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Never ends with you does it? LOL. Please read through all the posts before posting. R&D has been done with the exception of the end of the tube.....that's still up in the air. That's all I asked for help with. Go build a better mouse trap if that's what you want to do. I just asked for some help with the cap for the tube. It has a specific weight after many many hours of testing by the designers and testing facilities. This is where it needs to be. It works VERY efficiently in it's current state. Dave

Originally Posted by Fishy Jim

At the risk of helping this guy, it would be a poor decision to add excess mass so far away from the working end of the ram. Since straight thrusting (traditional battering) isn't the tools primary objective (as indicated by the swiss army knife-esque video), the addition of mass so far away from the working end, will not benefit the tools function, but will increase the fatigue on the troop carrying it.

There's a reason maul hammers don't have heavy handles - the added mass is in the wrong spot.

Were it just a traditional battering ram, the mass wouldn't matter where it was located.

Something else to consider with this things design is that the actual force changes with acceleration, just as much as it does with mass. Look at ballistics of bullets. You can get the same ft-lbs out of a smaller bullet at a higher speed. It's easier for a man to accelerate a lighter object than a heavy one (baseball bats would be a prime example). Maybe your research should be focused on the practical effects of being able to swing a lighter boot - oops, you already made 100 heavy ones.

I would think that anything you inserted in the tube would easily shake out after a little use, w/wo interference fit. (I think someone suggested expandable foam or plastic blocks of some sort.) What if you welded a nut on the back side of the anvil and just bolted an aluminum or plastic cap that was indexed on the edges?

No Really

LOL......that's funny. And to the other guy.....it may be for a SWAT tea, but it still has to be cosmetically appealling for the most part. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants somethin ugly....LOL

I would think the uglier and meaner looking the better. What Swat or MP wants a pretty looking tool.

It is all about intimidation that is why most of their tools are black. They want the dark fearsome look.

Two observations

1. why not use a plug instead of a cap then you can stich the corners and call it good.

2. Have you considered using round tube instead of square. The reason I say this is two fold. First you could get round end caps cheap and second you could fit it is a large steel ball and make it like a huge deadblow. Oh wait that may not be a good idea MFG wise and with that much more force you could eliminate the need for the second unit and then your sales would be halved.

LOL......that's funny. And to the other guy.....it may be for a SWAT tea, but it still has to be cosmetically appealling for the most part. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants somethin ugly....LOL

You are SOOOOO wrong. The best ram we had was designed by the guys using it: 1/2 rail road tie (before preserving ) rope and pipe for handles. Worked real well and didn't cost an arm and leg. And we didn't care what it looked like--it worked.

In fact IMHO and yea, I know you didn't ask for one but your getting one anyway, the pry hooks are going to be a problem to someone sometime and someone could get injured.

See that is just the problem: the designers and bean counters really don't care about who's using them--just about the money.

Well, there is one exception and his name if Richard Davis. If you know who he is then you'll know what he's about.

Just my 2¢.

The definition of courage. "It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through to the end no matter what." From "To Kill a Mockingbird"

In fact you have seen rubber scope covers right? Just weld a small hook to the top or bottom to hook the rubber strap over to keep it in place,,,,,,then joe hut hut could put something in the tube as a small storage space or increase the weight of the tool for more momentum or less. That could even open you up to sell even more stuff like lead weights....